Wrestling: Know Your Enemy: Purdue

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of 100 battles.” – The Art of War- Sun Tzu

Trying to bounce back from a tough loss to rival Michigan, the Buckeyes will take to the road again and head to West Lafayette. The Bucks will take on a tough (but beatable) Purdue Boilermakers team on Big Ten Network at 7 PM on Monday evening.

Head Coach- Scott Hinkel
Hinkel is in his 7th season as the head coach of the Purdue Boilermakers after a lengthy stint as an assistant coach. Hinkel was an All-American and ranks as Purdue’s leader in falls and is 2nd in career wins for his alma mater. Former Buckeye captain Pete Rogers and 3 time Purdue All-American Chris Fleeger are on the Boilermaker staff.

Notable WrestlersBraden Atwood- 197 lbs- Atwood is a 2 time NCAA qualifier and is on a bit of a roll this season, having gone 4-1 to date in Big Ten dual matches. Atwood is a lanky wrestler with a fondness for catching opponents mistakes and making them pay with a pin. Atwood is currently ranked #14 in the latest Intermat rankings.

Cashe Quiroga- 133 lbs- Quiroga has been a mainstay in the Boiler lineup since the 2009 season. He has twice competed in the NCAA tournament, earning All-American laurels as a freshman (6th place). Quiroga has won 3 out of 4 Big Ten duals this season.

Ohioans on the Roster-
Nick Lawrence-141 lbs
Lawrence hails from Westlake High School, where he was twice a runner-up at the state tournament. Lawrence has been in the starting lineup sparingly, but has wrestled well in several open tournaments.Aaron Assad -125 lbs
Assad was a 4 time state placer for Brecksville-Broadview Heights and won the Division I state title as a senior. Assad was frequently highly-ranked in the nation as a high schooler, but has yet to see any time on the mats in the starting lineup for Purdue.

Matches to watch-
All of them, if you get the Big Ten Network and are going to be home at 7 PM tomorrow night (or have DVR capability).

125 lbs- Camden Eppert vs #15 Nick Roberts
Roberts was unable to stave off the attack of Connor Youtsey of Michigan on Friday, and will be looking to bounce back against the experienced RS senior Eppert. Eppert currently holds a 10-9 record on the campaign.

133 lbs- #15 Cashe Quiroga vs #5 Johnni DiJulius
DiJulius will likely not be ranked this high on Tuesday in the new Intermat rankings at he lost to unranked Rossi Bruno of Michigan. A convicining win over a former All-American in Quiroga would help him to stay in the top 10.

141 lbs- Danny Sabatello vs #3 Logan Stieber
Stieber will be looking for a fall, plain and simple. There’s a great chance that he’ll either get a pin or put on a backpoint clinic.

149 lbs- Brandon Nelsen vs #19 Ian Paddock
Nelsen earned a trip to last year’s NCAA tournament, but has just a 12-11 record this season. Paddock needs to get back on track after 3 consecutive Big Ten losses. Paddock beat Nelsen early in the season by the score of 13-8.

157 lbs- Alex Griffin vs Randy Languis

165 lbs- Chad Welch vs Joe Grandominico
Welch was an NCAA qualifier a year ago, but has dropped his last 7 bouts. This could be perfect timing for Grandominico to catch Welch when he’s down and pick up a nice win.

174 lbs- Patrick Kissel vs #14 Mark Martin
There’s been a Kissel in the Purdue lineup for what seems like most of the 21st century. Kissel is a streaky wrestler, showing the ability to score almost at will one match and being shut completely down in the next. Martin would be wise to score early and snuff out Kissel’s attack if he wants to take this one.

184 lbs- Tanner Lynde vs #10 Kenny Courts
Courts is another Buckeye who could really use a win, dropping Friday’s bout to Michigan’s #20 Domenic Abounader. Coach Ryan has sang the praises of Kenny all year, predicting a breakout. This would be a nice time to see it.

197 lbs- #14 Braden Atwood vs #8 Nick Heflin
Atwood has won 4 straight since losing to Penn State’s Morgan McIntosh. Heflin has won 5 consecutive since losing against Wisconsin. This should be the most high-profile match in the dual. Heflin won 6-3 earlier this season against Atwood.

Heavyweight- Alex White vs Nick Tavanello
Tav was able to make a close match of it against former #1 Adam Coon. Here’s an opportunity to build on that close-call with a win against a Big Ten foe.

As I mentioned earlier, the dual will air live on the Big Ten Network tomorrow at 7. If you’re not watching the match live, be sure to set your DVR to record a bit later as you don’t want to have your recording cut out during an exciting match.
I spoke with Purdue’s coach Scott Hinkel, so look for that Buckeyes in the Crosshairs article later this evening and a recap of the event in the coming days. Thanks for reading and Go Bucks!